Oregon Shooting: 10 Dead Including Gunman at Umpqua Community College (Update: Gunman ID’d as Chris Harper Mercer)

Following the mass shooting at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College, 10 people are dead, including the gunman. According to accounts of the mass shooting, the gunman specifically targeted individuals who were Christians. As reported at CNN, the gunman asked whether individuals were Christians stating, “Good, because you’re a Christian, you’re going to see God in just about one second. And then he shot and killed them.” The shooter has been identified as 26 year old Chris Harper Mercer. The gunman was killed in a gun battle with police after officers responded to the scene at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg just before 10:40 AM.

Ten people were killed when a gunman opened fire at Oregon’s Umpqua Community College on Thursday, forcing the nation to face yet another mass shooting.

Seven other people were injured, and the shooter is dead, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told reporters. Earlier estimates had put the number of people hurt much higher.

Multiple law enforcement officials familiar with the investigation identified the gunman as 26-year-old Chris Harper Mercer. Investigators have interviewed members of his family and friends, they said.

“I will not name the shooter,” Hanlin said. “I will not give him the credit he probably sought.”

Authorities credited a quick response by law enforcement for keeping the death toll from climbing higher.

A law enforcement official said the shooter had body armor with him and was heavily armed, with a large amount of ammunition — enough for a prolonged gunfight.

Hanlin said tactical teams and bomb squads had cleared the buildings on campus and were working to clear hundreds of vehicles parked on campus.

UPDATE I: Shooter asks students their religion.

The shooter at Umpqua Community College on Thursday asked people to state their religion and then started firing, one student said.

Kortney Moore, an 18-year-old, told the News Review she was sitting in her writing class when a bullet blasted through the window. She saw her teacher shot in the head then noticed that the shooter was in the classroom.

Moore said the shooter told people to get on the ground. He then asked people to stand up and state their religion but started firing anywhere. She was on the ground next to people who’d been shot.

UPDATE II: Umpqua Gunman Chris Harper Mercer — What We Know.

Former acquaintances and social-media postings paint a picture of 26-year-old Christopher Harper Mercer — who was killed in a firefight with police at Umpqua Community College — as a withdrawn young man who spent a lot of time on the Internet.

Public records show that one person of that name was born in Los Angeles County in 1989. Police declined to confirm the shooter’s identity late Thursday, in an attempt to not “glorify” the actions of the gunman behind a rampage that left 10 dead and seven others wounded.

Investigators said it was too soon to identify a motive, though Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin told NBC’s TODAY he wasn’t aware of any “specific red flags” for the shooter.

“He is a local resident and I know personally I haven’t heard of any warning signs coming from this person,” Hanlon said.

A MySpace page that appeared to be linked to the shooter featured Mercer holding what appeared to be a rifle while several other postings were sympathetic to the Irish Republican Army and featured masked gunmen and logos.